Meth Addict Burns World’s 5th Oldest Tree to the Ground

Meth is dangerous drug that is bad for people – and apparently it’s not so good for trees either. Recently, a methamphetamine addict in Florida named Sarah Barnes decided she needed a better view to get high to, so she climbed “The Senator” (which was the fifth oldest tree in the world) and subsequently burned it down. At the time of the fateful blaze “The Senator” was 125 feet tall, had a diameter of 17.5 feet, and was estimated to be 3,500 years old. Barnes is 26.

After being arrested this past week, it was learned that Barnes was apparently sufficiently upset with herself saying, “I can’t believe I burned down a tree older than Jesus.” The tree (shown above) was used by Native Americans as a landmark before the United States was colonized and was estimated to be the largest tree east of the Mississippi before the fire.

Initially officials thought that the tree might have been struck by lighting because the fire started inside of it and burned it from the inside out like a chimney. It was later found out through crimeline tips that Barnes had been “inside the tree” (apparently the Senator had a smoking den within it) doing drugs with a friend when she started a fire so that she could see “what she was doing”. Apparently if you start a fire inside a tree, it can catch the tree on fire. As the tree burned, Barnes allegedly took photos of the crime, downloaded them to her computer and showed them to friends. Police say more arrests will most likely follow. The Senator now stands at a charred 25 feet-tall. Barnes faces up to 5 years in prison for a third degree felony and a lifetime of shame. As if the meth mouth wasn’t enough.